Anuradha Palnitkar has become the first woman of Indian descent to complete an unsupported, unpowered transcontinental bicycle ride across the United States, covering 3,168 miles in 52 days without a support vehicle.
Palnitkar, 54, completed the demanding cross-country expedition alongside fellow Indian Americans Jai Rawat, 57, and Samir Palnitkar, 58. Together, the trio cycled more than 5,100 kilometers and climbed over 100,000 feet during their journey from the West Coast to the East Coast.
The expedition began at 6 a.m. Pacific time on Aug. 1, 2026, at Santa Monica Beach in Los Angeles, California. Fifty-two days later, at noon Eastern time on Sept. 21, the cyclists reached the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.
Throughout the journey, the three relied entirely on unpowered bicycles and traveled without a support vehicle.
They covered an average of about 65 miles a day, crossing 14 states before reaching the District of Columbia. Their route took them through California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.
A significant part of the expedition followed Historic Route 66, the iconic American highway established in 1926. Starting in Santa Monica, the cyclists traveled through the Grand Canyon region, Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Amarillo and Tulsa before reaching St. Louis, Missouri.
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From St. Louis, they moved eastward toward Indianapolis, Columbus, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.
The journey offered the three Indian Americans a unique perspective on America’s geography, history and communities. Along Route 66, they encountered towns that played a role in the growth of Middle America during the 20th century.
The ride also exposed them to some of the toughest conditions of the journey.
For several weeks, the cyclists traveled through areas under extreme heat warnings, with temperatures reaching as high as 119 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 49 degrees Celsius. They rode on the shoulders of interstates and highways while large trucks passed at speeds exceeding 75 mph.
Some roads had no shoulders at all. The cyclists also had to continue through thunderstorms in New Mexico before eventually facing colder conditions as they reached the East Coast.
Mechanical problems, aggressive dogs and cycling accidents added to the difficulties. The three had to repair their bicycles along the way and recover from accidents while continuing toward Washington, D.C.
The landscape changed dramatically as they crossed the country. Their route included mountain passes, deserts, valleys, forests, plains, rolling hills, parks, historic towns, bicycle trails, frontage roads, highways and interstates.
They took in mountain views across California, Arizona and New Mexico before crossing the plains of Texas and Oklahoma. In Missouri, they traveled through the rolling hills of the Ozarks, followed by the vast cornfields of Illinois and Indiana.
Their journey continued through Ohio’s bicycle trails, the Appalachian Plateau in West Virginia and the Great Allegheny Passage near Pittsburgh, a roughly 150-mile bicycle trail. They later rode along the W&OD Trail in Virginia.
The cyclists also crossed two major continental divides. In New Mexico, they crossed the Continental Divide at an elevation of 7,881 feet. In Pennsylvania, they crossed the Eastern Continental Divide at 2,392 feet.
For Palnitkar and Samir, the journey was about more than completing a long-distance cycling challenge.
“Riding across the country helped us experience the varied terrains, the cultural diversity and the history of America in a very unique way. It was very interesting to travel through small towns that powered the growth of America in the 19th and 20th centuries. We felt an exhilarating sense of freedom as we cycled through the endless landscapes seeing innumerable sunrises,” they said.
Rawat said the cyclists were also surprised by the hospitality they received in small towns along the way.
“We experienced small-town hospitality as people chatted with us, offered free coffee as they learned about our cross-country ride. Cars drove patiently behind our slow bicycles and shop owners regaled us with stories about their historic artifact collections. We learned a lot about how the towns of Middle America made important contributions to the country’s growth,” Rawat said.
The expedition marked another milestone for the trio. Rawat and Samir became the first graduates of the Indian Institutes of Technology, or IITs, to complete an unsupported, unpowered bicycle ride across America.
Rawat is a serial entrepreneur with 33 years of business experience. He has founded multiple companies, including Zinrelo, which was acquired by Scaleworks; Obongo, which was acquired by AOL; and Mojo Networks, which was acquired by Arista.
He earned a BTech in Computer Science from IIT Kanpur in 1991 and a master’s degree in Computer Science from Iowa State University in 1993. He has also been awarded 19 technology patents.
The cross-country expedition was another milestone in Rawat’s endurance experiences. Before cycling across America, he had completed several marathons, ultramarathons and high-altitude treks.
His previous adventures include Everest Base Camp at 17,600 feet, Mount Kilimanjaro at 19,341 feet, Stok Kangri at 20,187 feet, the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim, Mount Shasta at 14,200 feet and Mount Whitney at 14,500 feet. He has also completed the Chadar Trek and a cycling journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
Palnitkar is a dietitian by profession and has a background in nutrition and education. She earned an undergraduate degree in dietetics from Delhi University in 1993 and a master’s degree in Nutritional Science from San Jose State University in 1996.
After working as a practicing dietitian for several years, she began working as a teacher at a school for children with special needs.
Palnitkar has completed three full marathons and several half marathons. She has also completed a 63-mile, or 100-kilometer, walk from Pune to Mahabaleshwar in 24 hours.
Her endurance achievements include 31 treks around the world, including Everest Base Camp, the Annapurna Circuit, Mount Kilimanjaro, the W Trek in Patagonia and the Tour du Mont Blanc. She is also an avid traveler who has visited more than 100 countries.
Samir brings 34 years of business experience across five startups. He has founded multiple companies, including Zinrelo, Obongo, Mojo Networks, Ingot Systems and I2P.
Those companies were acquired by Scaleworks, AOL, Arista, Synopsys and Lattice Semiconductor, respectively.
Samir earned a BTech degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 1990, followed by a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from San Jose State University in 1996.
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He has been awarded five U.S. technology patents and is the author of two books on semiconductor chip design.
Samir has also completed 31 treks around the world, including Everest Base Camp, the Annapurna Circuit, Mount Kilimanjaro, the W Trek in Patagonia and the Tour du Mont Blanc. He and Rawat previously completed a cycling journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 2018.
Their latest expedition took that earlier experience to another level, with three Indian Americans cycling more than 3,000 miles across the United States without a support vehicle and ending their journey at the Washington Monument in the nation’s capital.